dopamine

Examples of dopamine in the following topics:

• Types of Neurotransmitters by Function

  • Biogenic amines include the catecholamines, such as dopamine, norepinephrine (NE), and epinephrine, as well as indolamines such as serotonin and histamine.
  • Dopamine and NE are synthesized from amino acid tyrosine.
  • NE, dopamine, and histamine can be excitatory or inhibitory depending on the receptor type.
  • Addictive drugs such as cocaine and amphetamine exert their effects primarily on the dopamine system, while addictive opiates and functional analogs of opioid peptides which regulate dopamine levels.

• Cerebral Lobes

  • The frontal lobe contains most of the dopamine-sensitive neurons in the cerebral cortex.
  • The dopamine system is associated with reward, attention, short-term memory tasks, planning, and motivation.
  • Dopamine tends to limit and select sensory information that the thalamus sends to the forebrain.
  • A report from the National Institute of Mental Health indicates that a gene variant that reduces dopamine activity in the prefrontal cortex is related to poorer performance in that region during memory tasks; this gene variant is also related to slightly increased risk for schizophrenia.

• Phenylketonuria (PKU)

  • Levels of dopamine can be used to distinguish between these two types.
  • Low levels of dopamine lead to high levels of prolactin.

• Enteric Nervous System

  • The enteric nervous system also makes use of more than 30 neurotransmitters, most of which are identical to the ones found in CNS, such as acetylcholine, dopamine, and serotonin.
  • More than 90% of the body's serotonin lies in the gut, as well as about 50% of the body's dopamine, which is currently being studied to further our understanding of its utility in the brain.

• Basal Ganglia

  • The most notable are Parkinson's disease, which involves degeneration of the melanin-pigmented dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), and Huntington's disease, which primarily involves damage to the striatum.

• Ionotropic and Metabotropic Receptors

  • Examples of metabotropic receptors include glutamate receptors, muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, GABAB receptors, most serotonin receptors, and receptors for norepinephrine, epinephrine, histamine, dopamine, neuropeptides, and endocannabinoids.

• Midbrain

  • Dopamine produced in the substantia nigra plays a role in motivation and habituation of species from humans to the most elementary animals such as insects.

• The Role of the Basal Ganglia in Movement

  • Numerous things that people find rewarding, including addictive drugs, good-tasting food, and sex, have been shown to elicit activation of the VTA dopamine system.
  • Dopamine is used by the projection from the substantia nigra pars compacta to the dorsal striatum and also in the analogous projection from the ventral tegmental area to the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens).

• Aerobic Training vs. Strength Training

  • For people with such a health condition, their strength training is likely to need to be designed by an appropriate health professional, such as a physiotherapist.One side-effect of any intense exercise is increased levels of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, neurotransmitters that can help to improve mood and counter feelings of depression.

• Pituitary Gland Disorders

  • The hypothalamus secretes a number of hormones, often according to a circadian rhythm, into blood vessels that supply the anterior pituitary; most of these are stimulatory (thyrotropin-releasing hormone, corticotropin-releasing hormone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone and growth hormone-releasing hormone), apart from dopamine, which suppresses prolactin production.